This invention relates generally to medical equipment and, more particularly, to an intravenous fluid container stand having removable and interchangeable IV fluid container support members.
Stands having one or more hooks are traditionally used for holding intravenous bags of medicine or other fluids at the bedsides of patients in hospitals or other health facilities. Unfortunately, these stands can look quite intimidating, especially to children and particularly when many bags of medicine are in use simultaneously. In this case, it would be desirable to be able to remove the traditional bag-holding top portion and replace it with a bag holder having a configuration that is more comforting or even entertaining. Another reason for needing to remove and replace a traditional bag-holding support arm is if there are more bags that need to be suspended than the number of available hooks. Frequently, many fluid containers need to be in use at the same time and there may not be enough hooks from which to suspend the containers.
Various devices are known in the art for holding IV fluid containers. Although presumably effective for their intended purposes, the existing devices do not provide container-holding support arms that may be removed and replaced. Particularly, it would be desirable to have interchangeable bag-support arms having portions that provide comfort or entertainment to various age groups or categories of patients as well as portions that are functionally appropriate depending on the medical and emotional needs of various patients.